2014 Chevrolet SS

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2014 chevrolet ss Reviews and News

A ghost is haunting Woodward Avenue late on a Saturday night, disturbing the silence that stretches all the way from downtown Detroit through the economic wasteland near Hamtramck to the slumbering suburbs above 8 Mile. Few cars are on the road. A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution heading northwest around Pontiac is clearly just going home, and yet its driver can't resist the challenge when an unfamiliar-looking large sedan rolls up next to him in a low gear. He takes off hard at the next stoplight and probably thinks he's escaped when it comes up behind him, roaring and pulling hard past his front fender at 80 mph. This happens three or four times until he finally lowers his window, astonished, and asks, "What is that thing?" It's the 2014 Chevrolet SS -- a big, rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet sedan with a 415-hp V-8. It's a ghost.

In its heyday, the V-8 Chevy dominated straight, wide boulevards like these. Chevrolet introduced the small-block V-8 for 1955 and immediately stuffed it into its bread-and-butter full-size cars. The cherry red Bel Air that Mike Helfrich drove to our photo shoot in Detroit's Eastern Market would have cost about $2000 when new, roughly $17,500 in today's money. No wonder Chevy sold some 740,000 V-8-powered vehicles that first year. It's worth noting that the 265-cubic-inch engine put out only 162 to 180 hp, just as it's worth remembering that radial tires, airbags, and stability control are nice things to have. But that's beside the point. In 1955, a Chevrolet was one of the most powerful and stylish cars on the market, and almost anyone could afford one.

Not everyone will be able to afford a 2014 Chevrolet SS. Chevrolet is importing it from Australia, where a strong currency and high labor costs drive up the price. Unlike the Pontiac G8, the SS's direct predecessor, the Chevy will not offer a base V-6. The only specification is roughly equivalent to a loaded G8 GXP. The spacious, well-equipped interior will seat five real people, and the 16.4-cubic-foot trunk will happily swallow enough luggage for a long road trip. Of course, the key measure here is horsepower per dollar. The 6.2-liter LS3 V-8, virtually the same engine the G8 GXP used, connects to the rear wheels via a 3.27:1 axle. Chevy says the big sedan will hit 60 mph in five seconds. At any speed, it has that eager, straining-at-the-leash feel unique to cars with a powerful normally aspirated engine. The price for such preparedness is putrid fuel economy -- 14 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway. However, what you get is a $45,000 Chevy sedan that'll go toe-to-toe with a $65,000 BMW 550i or, for that matter, with a two-door sports car like the Camaro SS.

Chevrolet drivers could go toe-to-toe with just about anything in the early 1960s. By then, the Corvette (nearly canceled in '55) was coming into its own as a world-class sports car. And yet it still seemed natural and proper that the baddest Chevrolet be based on the one that most people bought. And so, for an extra $376.65 -- a hefty chunk of change back then -- an Impala Super Sport buyer could opt for the 409-hp, 409-cubic-inch big-block V-8 that was winning on NASCAR ovals and NHRA drag strips. Today, John Schraufnagel's 1962 Impala SS, suffering from a failing starter, rode to Detroit on a trailer. The 409 coughs to life as it pulls into position for photos, settling into a rat-a-tat race idle that translates to, "I wasn't built to sit for photos."

But it does look good in them. The design has the understated elegance of the early Bill Mitchell era. Like the '55, it seems to tell the world that a Chevrolet owner deserves the best. The new SS, in contrast, makes do with a pastiche of five-year-old design clichés -- bubbly headlamps, fender gills, and a pinched Bangle butt. That said, people seem to like it. Helfrich, the owner of the '55, finds it "aggressive," calling out the nineteen-inch wheels and the piano-black-accented front fascia. A butcher at the end of a night shift walks over for a closer look and gives us his number in case we ever want a ride in his
Pontiac GTO Judge.

The 409 was the apogee of full-size Chevrolet muscle. The performance war of the 1960s soon shifted toward smaller vehicles like the Chevelle and the Camaro. The fuel-economy wars of the 1970s and '80s only hastened the downsizing trend. By the 1990s, Chevrolet and car buyers had mostly moved on from large, body-on-frame sedans, let alone high-performance variants. And yet, old ideas are tough to kill. A revived Impala SS debuted as a concept at the 1992 Detroit auto show and drew such a reception that General Motors decided to build it. Essentially a police-package Caprice with a slightly lowered suspension, the 1994–96 Impala SS sold reasonably well -- more than 40,000 in the final year, including the 5900-mile example owned since new by Ford (yes, Ford) employee Jim Ledingham. But by then GM, like the rest of the American auto industry, had gotten into the crack cocaine that was the SUV craze. It canned the big Chevy, along with its Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac relatives, to free up production capacity.

As the SS's nearest contemporary in this group, the '90s Impala provides clear evidence of how far the company has advanced. The Impala rides on a frame dating back to 1977 and sends 260 hp through a live rear axle. "Nothing rides like a body-on-frame car," Ledingham asserts. The SS uses the latest version of the Zeta rear-wheel-drive unibody platform -- the Holden Commodore on which it's based underwent a significant refresh for 2013 -- and wears an aluminum hood and trunk lid. Beyond the leap forward in hardware, the 2014 Chevrolet SS benefits from the wholesale improvements in GM products over the last decade -- everything from the interior materials to the weighting of the electric power steering speak to a certain level of competence and know-how. The Impala handled well for a big car. The SS handles well, period -- tons of grip, surprising balance, excellent body control. It actually feels nimbler and easier to place in a corner than the smaller Camaro (the fact that it has real windows helps). Still, the '96 Impala was one of the best GM cars of a depressing era -- and is fast becoming a modern classic -- because it stayed true to Chevrolet's core ideals.

The decades blur as the four cars start up for a short cruise through downtown Detroit. The owners, who hadn't previously known each other but all insure their vehicles through Hagerty, bond over their shared automotive culture. Cars they owned. Cars they always wanted. A long, straight highway entrance ramp in metro Detroit that once served as an illicit drag strip. All express interest in the 2014 Chevrolet SS, although Schraufnagel worries that its fuel economy won't suffice for a daily driver. The rumbling exhaust notes play off each other, and, for a moment, it's easy to imagine how shiny new American cars once burbled up and down Detroit's wide boulevards on clear autumn evenings such as this. Of course, that was a long time ago. Shortly after dinner, the 409 goes back on the trailer (hauled by a late-model Silverado), and the rest of the cars disappear back toward the suburbs.

Don't be deluded into viewing the SS as any kind of return to the golden days. Chevrolet doesn't plan to import more than 4000 of them annually from Australia. For 2013, the SS became Chevy's NASCAR model. Officially, Chevrolet hasn't decided what will follow. "Stay tuned," says Dave Leone, GM's executive chief engineer for global product platforms. Unofficially, it's hard to imagine this car becoming any more of a commercial success than the last two Holden-sourced imports, the Pontiac GTO and G8. To sell more, GM would have to consider relocating production to North America. It would also have to improve fuel economy -- think cylinder deactivation and a transmission with more than six speeds -- so as not to adversely impact the company's CAFE standing. Those things cost money that Chevy would probably rather use to, say, improve its all-important compact and mid-size cars. We get all that. And yet the 2014 Chevrolet SS still haunts us as a reminder of a time when Chevry built powerful, charismatic sedans for the masses.

New For 2014

The 2014 Chevrolet SS is a new introduction to the Chevrolet lineup and is also based upon the latest Holden Commodore, which debuted in late 2012. The vehicle is an entirely new design, although its 6.2-liter V-8 carries over essentially unchanged.

Vehicle Summary

Fourteen years have passed since the demise of the Impala SS, but at long last, Chevrolet is ready to introduce another rear-wheel-drive, performance-oriented sedan that evokes memories of the muscle-bound Chevelles and Impalas of the 1960s. The 2014 Chevrolet SS -- yes, just "SS" -- may be sold as a slice of four-wheeled Americana, but its roots, along with its assembly plant, are firmly in Australia, as the car was designed, engineered, and built by General Motors' Holden division. Early production cars are expected to arrive in dealer showrooms by December of 2013.

Overview

We always thought that the discontinued Pontiac G8 would make for a fine performance-oriented four-door Chevy. After years of whispers, rumors, and (occasionally public) executive in-fighting, GM finally agrees.

Like the G8, the 2014 Chevrolet SS is little more than a badge-engineered version of the Holden Commodore sedan sold in Australia, although the SS is based on the new VF-series Commodore, which debuted Down Under in 2012. In theory, the SS is much like the police-only Chevrolet Caprice but newer, smaller, and a little sexier. The look is very much Holden-esque -- a bit like the Caprice, G8, and even the modern-era Pontiac GTO -- but the new SS is a little more curvaceous and less constrained than its relatives.

The initial specs are enough to make muscle-car enthusiasts salivate: a 6.2-liter V-8, with 415 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque on tap. That power purportedly pushes the SS along to an estimated 0-to-60-mph time of roughly five seconds.

Although it's certainly something to excite the Chevy crew, we have a few reservations. To start with, it trails the 2014 Dodge Charger SRT8 by 65 hp and 65 lb-ft of torque. Another gaffe: the only transmission available is a six-speed automatic. GM claims that manual gearboxes appeal only to a small niche of buyers, but we think that niche is the very same performance-oriented bunch interested in the 2014 Chevrolet SS in the first place. Seeing as Holden sells a six-speed manual transmission Down Under -- and Pontiac had offered one in the short-lived G8 GXP -- we hope that GM is just holding it for a special-edition model down the road. Care for an SS SS, anyone?

You'll like:

Rear-wheel-drive agility

Brawny V-8 power

Classic American swagger (albeit via Australia)

You won't like:

No available manual transmission

Overpowered by Dodge Charger SRT

Key Competitors

For true gearheads, almost immediately after a new model comes out, the questions start to come about when higher-performance variants will be available. Even on vehicles with an overtly performance-oriented image and name, like the 2014 Chevrolet SS, get this scrutiny. The standard drivetrain of a 415-hp LS3 V-8 and six-speed automatic are plenty potent, but for some, it's still not enough. Chevrolet Performance Cars marketing manager John Fitzpatrick told Automotive.com that variants such as a model equipped with a manual transmission, or a supercharged engine could be coming, based on how well the current model sells.

It's an exciting time of year, isn't it? When the new cars start to roll out, there's a crisp sense of purpose in the air. This year, the carmakers are hard at it again after a troubled period, and although things aren't easy, everyone is trying to do good work. The time for making excuses is over, and now is the time for making cars. For all of us, every new shape promises to lead down a road that we haven't taken before, and new people, distant places, and great adventures lie at the end of it. Every new car is a great drive waiting to happen.

Acura MDX
A sport-utility vehicle so good, it's just a car.

BMW X5
New, but little changed.

Cadillac CTS
Measuring up to its competition.

Chevrolet Spark EV
What car has four doors, burns no fuel, and has almost as much torque on tap as a Camaro SS? That'd be the Spark EV, the only pure-electric car in GM's portfolio. A 140-hp electric motor packs enough oomph to let the Spark sprint to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds. A lithium-ion battery pack provides up to 82 miles of range, and a DC fast-charge function gives an 80 percent recharge in twenty minutes. The Spark EV is lithe and fun to toss about, but it's available only in California and Oregon. - Evan McCausland

Ford Fiesta ST
Turbocharged fun in a snazzy package.

Honda Accord Plug-In
The Honda Accord is the best all-around sedan in the mainstream mid-size category -- so trim, so comfortable, so good to drive. With this plug-in hybrid, which can travel about thirteen miles on electric power alone, Honda hopes to burnish a somewhat faded reputation for leadership in environmentally conscious vehicle engineering. Honda has fallen behind in the green market, but this hybrid could prove to be more practical than the Chevrolet Volt, the Ford Fusion Energi, and the Toyota Prius Plug-In. The 2014 Accord Plug-In is available only in New York and California. Only 1100 will be sold or leased over the next two years. - David Zenlea

Fiat 500L
Little big car.

Jaguar F-Type
Striving for icon status.

Kia Soul
Remarkably resilient.

McLaren P1
A legend in the making.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class
So fast and luxurious, all it needs now is a flight attendant.

Porsche 911 GT3
Sure, we hate that the 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 doesn't have a manual transmission, but that doesn't mean this 475-hp monster is going soft. Porsche wanted a faster GT3 and saw the old clutch pedal as an impediment to this pursuit. Indeed, the latest GT3 with its seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic achieves a whole new level of performance, attacking the track with supercar gusto and seamlessly integrating technologies such as four-wheel steering. What remains to be seen is whether the new GT3 feels as special as its predecessor while loping along an American highway. - David Zenlea

Whether you're a fan of American muscle or high-dollar European machinery, this week's video roundup has something for everyone. Ace driver Justin Bell takes both the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG to the track, and offers his impressions of the two high-horse rides, and Formula One Star and Infiniti engineering consultant Sebastian Vettel visits our offices.

In case you've forgotten, the 2014 Chevrolet SS is the American-spec version of Australia's new Holden Commodore. As part of a triumphant new ad for the Commodore, Holden reminds us that, "when shipped to the States, [the] new Commodore becomes our new top-of-the-line Chevrolet sedan."

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Sound & Entertainment

Warranty

Recalls

Recall Date

12-31-1969:21:35:40

Component

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER

Summary

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured June 7, 2013, to May 29, 2014, and 2014 Chevrolet SS vehicles manufactured September 13, 2013, to March 4, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the windshield wiper motor gear teeth may strip causing the windshield wipers to become inoperative.

Consequences

Inoperative wipers will not clear rain or snow, reducing the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiper module assembly and replace any affected ones, free of charge. The recall began on August 22, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14295.

Potential Units Affected

4,794

Notes

General Motors LLC

Recall Date

12-31-1969:21:35:40

Component

SEATS

Summary

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Buick Encore and Cadillac ATS; 2014 Cadillac CTS, ELR, Chevrolet Caprice and SS vehicles; and 2014-2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra Trucks. Due to an incomplete weld on the seat hook bracket assembly, the front seats in the affected vehicles may not stay secured in place during a high load condition such as a crash.

Consequences

A seat that does not stay secured increases the risk of occupant injury in a vehicle crash.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the seat hook bracket assembly weld and replace the lower seat track, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on August 15, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14340.